From:
"merylfaulkner"
Date: 2010-08-27 00:27:58 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Babs, female ferret, rapid breathing/cardiac/lung issues, update
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Fortunately Babs is doing somewhat better today (Thursday) after her vet vi=
sit. They put her on oxygen, did X-rays and an ultrasound since the ultraso=
und specialist happened to be there, and she improved during the day. My ve=
t also aspirated the fluid present in her chest which was causing her lungs=
to collapse from the pressure. Fortunately the lungs themselves did not ha=
ve fluid in them. The "before" radiographs showed the fluid, and one lung a=
lmost completely collapsed.A small amt of fluid remained after aspiration, =
but my vet said the meds should take care of the remainder over a day or tw=
o.
They gave her 1/8 of an enalapril tab (an Ace inhibitor - dilates blood ves=
sels) - and a dose of frusemide (lasix) which makes the body get rid of flu=
id by urination. When I went to pick her up in the afternoon, my vet mentio=
ned the heart had not enlarged much in the intervening two months since the=
last sonogram, but its function had deteriorated. A list member kindly exp=
lained the abbreviations mentioned in the past sonogram in my email, and th=
e upshot is that her heart's contraction had become less efficient and the =
heat probably exacerbated the problem.
She had not been on any heart meds before this (she was just started on pre=
d a month ago for low bg - probable insulinoma). My vet mentioned a new dru=
g - pimobendan =96 saying it could be used if the enalapril did not work. I=
t improves heart muscle contraction but is not officially approved for ferr=
ets in the US but is being used in dogs and has been giving good results. H=
as anyone any comment on pimobendan (trade name Vetmedin) and when it is us=
ed? I looked through the FHL archives and it has been on the market in the =
US since about 2007 or 2008 presumably for dogs.
Luckily the weather here is cooling down. If it gets hot the air conditione=
r's going on. So we go back in for a checkup on Saturday and hopefully she=
will continue to improve. She's almost six years old, so am glad this will=
keep her going for a while.
Meryl
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